First introduced to the European Parliament in 2019, attempts to restrict the use of everyday ‘meaty’ terms like ‘burger’ and ‘sausage’ for plant-based foods have been a recurring topic on the EU legislative agenda. As Europe struggles with extreme weather and growing global instability, the saga is still unfolding. 

The move comes despite analysis finding that treating food such as plant-based meat as a strategic priority, including by adopting common names that people understand and trust, can boost the EU’s economy by up to €111 billion a year by 2040. It can also open up dynamic export markets and create opportunities for European farmers.

See our timeline below for a rundown of the story so far, and the latest developments.

Next developments expected

A vote on the latest amendments is scheduled for December 2026 in the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development (AGRI). A plenary vote in the European Parliament is expected in early 2027.

August 2026

The hard-won compromise achieved in March is out of the window after only a few days, having first taken effect on 19 August 2026. The March agreement had been part of the ‘targeted’ revision of the Common Market Organisation (CMO) legislation, and prohibited species names like chicken and pork but allowed more general terms such as ‘burger’, ‘sausage’ and ‘nuggets’ for plant-based foods.

Members of the European parliament (MEPs) from the European People’s Party (EPP), Patriots for Europe, and European Conservatives and Reformist (ECR) groups introduced new amendments just days later as part of the full CMO revision – once more attempting to introduce restrictions on the full range of terms, including those which have been used in Europe for over a century like the ‘Adenauer Sausage’.

These new proposals also extend further than ever before, and explicitly target blended products – foods containing both animal and plant-based ingredients. 

Reopening this debate for a third time undermines legal and planning certainty for businesses, and also prompts broader legitimacy questions as to why twice-settled legislation is again being re-opened. The broadened scope is also likely particularly disruptive given a combination of plant and animal ingredients are already widely used in many conventional meaty foods in Europe, such as chicken nuggets, burgers blending vegetables and other ingredients into their recipes, and ‘banger’ type sausages widely eaten in Ireland.  The amendments are already facing broad criticism: the No Confusion coalition, coordinated by the European Vegetarian Union and WePlanet, brings together more than 600 businesses and organisations from 22 EU countries.

“Following a summer in which heatwaves, droughts and wildfires put food production under serious pressure, policy support is needed to diversify our protein supply with options such as plant-based meat. Restrictions on everyday, long-established terms such as ‘burger’ and ‘schnitzel’, by contrast, are entirely unnecessary.”

Alex holst, deputy head of policy eu

March 2026

Following ‘trilogue’ discussions by the European Commission, Parliament and the Council of the EU, a total of 32 ‘meaty’ terms* were restricted from use on plant-based foods. This included the word ‘meat’ itself and terms associated with certain cuts such as ‘breast’, ‘thigh’ and ‘drumstick’, as well as species names. It was the parties’ third attempt to agree on a common text, after the European Parliament voted in favour of proposals brought to the Agriculture Committee by French MEP Céline Imart in 2025. 

In addition to existing plant-based meat products, the decision also includes a commitment to ban these terms for cultivated meat products and ingredients that have not yet entered the market, posing an allergy risk for consumers who will need to understand what they are buying without consultation of relevant health or consumer bodies. Research shows that the use of ‘meaty’ names for cultivated meat is crucial for consumer understanding.

The Federal Association for Alternative Protein Sources (BALPro) puts the cost of the restrictions passed in March 2026 at around €250 million for the German sector alone, covering changeovers, redesign and lost revenue. At the same time, the proposals run counter to the EU’s stated aim of cutting red tape, and to the EU protein action plan, which is intended to strengthen domestic protein production.

The given arguments claim this would help reduce consumer confusion and improve transparency. However, especially in the context of the expanded scope, available data actually suggests the opposite is true. According to surveys, most people support continuing to allow familiar names such as ‘burger’ or ‘sausage’ for plant-based products. A study conducted in 2022 in Germany, Europe’s largest market for plant-based meat, found that 92% of consumers reported no difficulty telling in the supermarket when a product contains no conventional meat.

* The list of restricted terms in full: meat, beef, veal, pork, poultry, chicken, turkey, duck, goose, lamb, mutton, ovine, goat, drumstick, tenderloin, sirloin, flank, loin, steak, ribs, shoulder, shank, chop, wing, breast, liver, thigh, brisket, ribeye, T-bone, rump and bacon.

January 2024

The French Supreme Court ruled that consumers are not confused by ‘meaty’ terms such as sausage and steak on plant-based meat products. Likewise, in Belgium, the government dropped proposals to restrict plant-based meat labelling. 

The ruling was definitive, and allegations of misleading business practices were dismissed at all levels of the court. The judges determined that consumers cannot be misled, given that labels and advertising consistently clarify the plant-based composition of the products. They also concluded that even when these products are displayed in conventional meat departments in stores, they remain clearly identifiable.

November 2023

The Italian government pass a ban on ‘meat-sounding’ names for plant-based products, as part of broader legislation targeting protein diversification, including a ban on cultivated meat.

October 2020

Members of the European Parliament reject plans to ban companies from using meaty terms like ‘burger’ and ‘steak’ for plant-based products – but introduce further restrictions on naming for plant-based dairy, building on restrictions initially introduced in 2017, backing a clampdown on descriptors like ‘cheese-style’. 

The result came after 13 international environmental, animal welfare and food safety groups wrote to MEPs arguing that the restrictions would contradict the EU’s climate change commitments, and its Farm to Fork strategy. A separate open letter signed by 50 businesses and nonprofits to MEPs also argued that the plans breached the bloc’s principle of proportionality.

The proposed dairy restrictions were also subsequently defeated in May 2021 and never made it into law, following opposition from a broad coalition of environmental, consumer and animal welfare groups.

If accepted, they could have prevented plant-based dairy products from providing essential allergen information such as ‘lactose-free alternative to dairy milk’ and from using cartons and other packaging similar to dairy products.

Author

Alex Holst Deputy Head of Policy – EU

Alex works with NGOs, think tanks, businesses, and other political actors to advance sustainable proteins in Europe.